Johns Hopkins University

Overview

Based in Baltimore, Maryland, Johns Hopkins University (JHU) is the first research university in the United States and is one of the biggest spenders for research among all universities in the country. This goes in stride with the premise of its founding—to integrate instruction with research.

JHU features 10 academic divisions across its main campus in Maryland, local campus for graduate studies in Washington, DC, and its international campuses in China and Italy. It also has a medical campus in East Baltimore. The divisions consist of schools for applied physics, international studies, business, engineering, medicine, nursing, education, and public health. These divisions also include the Peabody Institute, which is a music and dance conservatory. In addition to these, the university has a vast library system, spanning 10 divisions spread through its campuses, which carries over 3.6 million volumes. It also has a printing press.

What makes scholastic life in JHU peculiar is the amount of research intermixed with academics. Around 80% of undergraduate students conduct independent studies in its over 15 research centers, mentored by renowned researchers. A wide range of courses are offered in each division, foremost of which are biomedical engineering, neuroscience, chemical engineering, molecular biology, public health, and bioengineering.

Regarded as a selective university, JHU consistently posts relatively low acceptance rates, especially in its undergraduate programs, which receive an average of 29,000 applications each year. Only around 3,000 are admitted to pursue their undergraduate studies.

Named after its initial benefactor, JHU was founded in 1876 at the bequeathal of Maryland entrepreneur Johns Hopkins. A portion of the bequeathed funds, which amounted to $7 million (equivalent to around $147.5 million present-day), was apportioned to putting up the university. The first JHU president, Daniel Coit Gilman, laid down the foundations of what would now be known as an American research university, heavily incorporating research in the school’s curricula.

Currently, JHU welcomes over 5,000 undergraduates and approximately 20,000 graduate students yearly, joined by around 1,500 faculty members. It has employed its share of award-winning educators, including G. Stanley Hall (renowned psychologist and Clark University’s founding president), Charles Sanders Peirce (founder of semiotics), and Ayn Rand (author).

As for its alumni, Woodrow Wilson (US president), Michael Bloomberg (New York City mayor), William Albright (authenticator of the Dead Sea Scrolls), and Chen Chien-jen (Taiwanese vice president) are among the many notable graduates of JHU.

JHU’s mission during its founding has remained unchanged today, which is to inculcate lifelong learning into its students through original and independent research, as they deliver the benefits of their discoveries locally and globally. It also hosts age-old traditions within its halls, like Greek Life and Spring Fair, to enhance the students’ experience while they’re in school.